Monday, August 4, 2008

I am so proud of this meal. All the delicious-ness of regular red beans and rice but less fat and calories. I plugged it into sparkrecipes and it came out to around 300 calories and about 7 g of fat per serving, not bad! If you didn't know, I lived in New Orleans for 13 years. And I am a sucker for cajun/creole food. I have a traditional red beans and rice dish in my blog, but I honestly don't think I'll make this dish the traditional way again (not any time soon anyway). In place of white rice I used brown, and instead of the pork smoked sausage I used turkey smoked sausage. I really couldn't tell the difference either. This dish came out so creamy (thanks to mashing the beans a bit) as well as hearty. Perfect for a traditional red beans and rice Monday.

I used my favorite cajun seasonings to spice things up. The dish wouldn't be the same without them.

I'm submitting this recipe to Joelen's (Joelen's Culinary Adventures) Cajun/Nola Eats blogging event.This event focuses on Famous New Orleans Chefs and is also an avenue to remember those who have suffered through Katrina.

Healthier Red Beans and Rice

(makes 6 large servings)

2 cups brown rice

2 cans dark red kedney beans drained and rinsed

1 cup bell pepper (I used orange but any color will do)

1 medium onion finely diced

1 cup diced celery

3 garlic cloves minced

1 Tbs. canola oil

1 bay leaf

1 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley

1 link turkey smoked sausage chopped into half moons

5 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth/stock

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 Tbs (or more to taste) Tony Chachere's creole seasoning

cayenne pepper to taste

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add canola oil. Add onions, peppers and celery (The Cajun Trinity) and saute about 5 minutes. Add sausage and saute about 3 minutes more. Add rice and garlic and stir occaisionally for about 3-5 minutes until rice is toasted. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. When pot comes to a boil reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 35 minutes. Uncover and mash some of the beans with a potato masher or a large spoon so mixture gets creamy. Cook uncovered for about 10-15 more minutes. Serve with pepper sauce.

Just curious about the nutrition stats on your turkey sausage. I picked up some wonderful looking chicken sausage (cajun style) that would work wonderfully here I think. I wanna run the stats though. Looks awesome!

I'm on Weight Watchers and have a turkey kielbasa in the fridge. I have leftovers tonight, but will try it tomorrow night or next week at the latest. My SO loves spicy; me, not so much, so I can adjust that. Thanks for another great entree.